Not Skinny But Not Fat - Maria Menounos’ Secret Battle with Cancer While Expecting A Baby

Episode Date: July 4, 2023

Maria Menounos had it all, the dream job millions of girls wanted (including me)- but not everything’s perfect- Maria has been dealing with health issues, losing a parent, and finally a cancer diagnosis all while anticipating the arrival of her first child via surrogacy. We discuss how she dealt with all the above, and the mission she is now on to help others!Produced by Dear MediaThis episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The following podcast is a dear media production. Hi, I'm Dr. Will Cole. As a leading functional medicine practitioner, I have had a unique position to see so many alchemize their pain and health problems to their purpose. Now I want the same for you. This podcast is the manifesto for a new breed of health seekers, where there is a fresh infusion of grace and lightness into wellness.

This is the art of being well. Join me every Thursday for a new episode. episode. This is Amanda Hirsch from the Not Skinny but Not Fat podcast. You might know me from Not Skinny Bonatha on Instagram where I spend my time talking about reality TV, celebrities, everything happening and pop culture. I also talk to some of our favorite celebs and reality TV stars. We talk about what's going on. Tune in every Tuesday and just feel like you're talking about your best friends in your living room. Welcome. Thank you.

And I'm happy who made this happen. Maria Manunoz is on the podcast today. I have to first tell you like when I heard about this opportunity to interview you, I immediately was like, you were my inspiration for what I'm doing. today watching you all those years be a host and you were everywhere i mean news entertainment tonight access right everything like i would watch you and be like that's what i want to do like i want to be maria manuno's like so this is like wild for me thank you you're welcome i mean it's but it's true it's like you paved the way for like what a lot of people first of all how do you feel

about the job you did for so many years being so many people's dream job because, like, I, I even took me years to say it out loud because it was like, you know, icky to say, because I'm like, everybody wants to do that. You know, everyone feels like they think they want to do it at least, you know? And I'm like, no, but I really want to. And you did that job. I mean, I sound like Miranda Priestley, like the job of a million women, but you know what I mean. So what was it like to know people wanted that job? Like to work in, in that job that, you know, everyone, yeah, thought was like the dream job. And I mean, still today, it's like people's dream to work at E-News and be, you know, a host and everything. Yeah, it's wild because very early on

people would come up to me all the time, like, I want to do what you do. I want to do what you do. And I got that feeling because I remember watching people before me and be like, I want to do what you do. The thing that struck me and my husband, who's my partner and everything, was that It was really hard for people, right? Because if you didn't have an agent, you couldn't get a job, but you couldn't get an agent without the job. And it was like the chicken or the egg. And so we were like, hmm, we had this kind of dream to do after shows for TV shows. And so we started a little, you know, after show for Breaking Bad and one for Jersey Shore back in the day. We bought this house that you could like, we thought, let's find this little house that like somebody would do terror card readings out of and we'll do these after shows. And so we started with those two, and then they built out. And it really became a place where I was able to direct the use of the world and say, oh, you want to do what I do? Come to AfterBuzz.

It is called AfterBuzz TV. And I would say, if you want to host, come get your chops. You'll learn from us. We have a whole curriculum. And you'll start hosting shows. You'll start getting video. We put video in studios before people were doing video. And at that time, they were laughing at us for shooting YouTube videos that were longer than one minute.

We were doing 40-minute videos back then. And we're like, but when we're talking about our favorite show, we don't want to stop at one minute. And of course, then everything kept shifting. But our hosts were not only learning to host, they were getting fans. And so even funny enough, I went to WrestleMania. I wrestled at WrestleMania. And I walk out of the arena, 75,000 people at Dolphin Stadium. and I see a sign in the audience. We love Kathy Kelly. She was one of my hosts on AfterBuzz. People were fans of our hosts everywhere. So I felt like we solved this problem for people,

and we actually launched, I mean, hundreds of careers. And we probably don't even know the extent of it because it's so hard we had thousands of hosts. But there were so many people that started there and really kind of well-known. people now, too. So it's, it's been a really cool thing. That's, I'm sure I applied. I'm sure I'm like, I'm sure. I'm like, because I know your husband does after Buzz and I heard the name. I was like, I'm sure. But you're right. It is that. It's that the, the, the, you can't get in the door without

somebody knowing you. But now, you know, aside from after buzz, there is social media, right? Yeah. So that gives you the, but back in your day. No, I'm just kidding. But you got on the map. I mean, you went to college for journalism. Yep. I went to Emerson. To Emerson. And then how did you get your foot in the door of like being a on screen host?

So I always say it's like a series of baby steps and lots of yeses and lots of free work. So my first thing was, you know, at some point I would do kind of whatever. like modeling job I could and whatever. And then my cousin knew this guy, Kevin, who's my husband now, and he's like, my buddy's coming back from, you know, L.A. He's going to make a movie. You should work on it. And I was like, yeah, right. He had been telling me someday when you want to move to L.A., you know, I got a buddy out there, you know, he works at MTV. And I used to think he was just bullshitting, but he did come back to make a movie. And I worked for free on it with Kevin for, for,

the summer and someone who worked on the movie that Kevin had hooked up and put on TV returned the favor and said there's this job at this place called Channel One News and Maria should apply for it and I'll give her tape over to the executive producer and so Kevin and I edited some old college news tapes I was 40 pounds heavier and I sent in the tapes and the executive producer at the time said I thought you didn't want the job from your tapes because of what I look like, which is funny thinking about that now. And I got my first job at Channel 1 News,

moved to L.A. The second I landed in L.A., the executive producer goes, hey, nice to meet you. Okay, great. You're getting on a plane. You're going to D.C. And you're going to interview Lars Ulrich from Metallica.

And I'm like, but I just landed in L.A. Literally just landed in L.A. And he goes, yep, bye. And I go, okay, bye. Cool. And you did it. Went right back to the other ghost. And that's where I got my start.

But it was a series of, you know, I did every production I could at school. I studied. I did every extracurricular activity. I, you know, everything I could, every little opening, every potential something I did, hoping that it would lead to something. And it did. Did you always know that's what you wanted to do? I never wanted to necessarily do entertainment news.

Funny enough, even though when I met Bob going, at the Miss Teen USA pageant. I was like, I want to do what you do because it just looked amazing like to be on TV and stuff. Were you in a, you were in a pageant?

Yeah, I was Miss Massachusetts Teen USA and went to Miss Teen USA. Oh, pageant life. It's so interesting how, oh, you know what?

Now I'm remembering. I interviewed Olivia Culpo. Oh, yeah. I love Olivia. And she said, because she was a pageant girl too, and she said that you were like, her inspiration in that way, like she, she was like, okay, look, like she did a pageant and then

she moved on and like did other things. Yeah. So I feel like people don't know that like pageant life can can lead. I mean, that also a lot of people in the industry have done pageants. Yeah, for sure. And you know, they get such a bad rap, but I learned so much and it was so helpful with poise and confidence and presentation. And, you know, I think they were really wonderful to me. I didn't do a lot of them. I did two different ones. Actually, no, I ended up doing the Miss Massachusetts USA pageant too. So yeah, so maybe I did three. But yeah. So something about like pageants and TV, like you wanted kind of to be on camera and I knew. Yeah, but I didn't think entertainment news. I actually wanted to do sports. I loved sports.

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B-E-I-S, travel.com slash not skinny. First of all, you said WWE before. I was shocked to like read about that that you, like you've competed. Yeah.

Done the match. What did they call them? Like you wrestle. I've wrestled. Yeah. Four and no. Wait. Four no.

I won four matches. I'm undefeated. Is WWE the like fake one. So let me educate you. Educate me. WWE is the biggest wrestling federation, the biggest company for this. So it's entertainment. It's sports entertainment. So yes, they know what the outcome is going to be. We all kind of know what we're doing. It's people now know it's choreographed and stuff. But it's still real when you're hitting the mat. It's still when I'm fighting Beth Phoenix, the glamazon, she's like,

hit me as hard as you can. I go, only if you hit me as hard. Actually, no, I said to her, hit me as hard as you can. I want this to look real. And she goes, only if you hit me as hard as you can. So I'm like, boom. And then we're kicking. And it was so fun. Wait, do you walk away with like bruises or or? So adrenaline really kicks in. I will say that for sure. 70,000 people screaming and then you're terrified in the ring. Like, it's just sheer terror for me because I'm, you know, I'm new and, you know, this isn't what I do. And so adrenaline helps.

How did, how did you get into it then? I was a super fan. Stop. You would watch it. My dad and I. That's so funny. Yeah. My dad and I grew up watching it.

I was a super fan. And so it started because they started. started having guest hosts for Monday Night Raw, their big show. And I remember telling my publicist, you got to get me in, you got to get me in. Well, he never called them. So one day he calls me and he goes, you're not going to believe this. I didn't even call them. They called me. I go, no way. He's like, yeah. I go, okay, cool, say yes on one condition. I want to wrestle. And they kind of didn't take me seriously. And then also at the same time, it's such a machine. They work harder than anybody in this business. It's insane what they do and what they pull off. They're like a

traveling circus basically. It's like nonstop. Wait, did you have a name? No. Well, I called myself the golden Greek, but I always wore like my Greek flags and I was the Greek, the Greek wrestler. But I went and I trained with this guy, rest in peace, Rick Drazen in his backyard in Van Nuys, California. And then I showed up one day for my guest hosting. And I said, I know how to wrestle. And so they put me with their trainer, Dean, and he, I showed him what I could do. And then he taught me this move called the Sunset Flip. And that was hours before I had to do it. And I went out and I did it. And then from there on, I kept the storyline going because I'm a fan. So I know how to egg them on. So I don't want this to stop. I want to keep doing this. This is so fun. And so I kept doing it and

doing it. And then it culminated with WrestleMania. And at that point, the women had never made it on the card. And it was really cool because I had brought so much attention to it. And we were able to make the main show, which was awesome. That's so cool. I love when like a passion turns into, like a real passion turns into like a project that you work on. So you did so much. You went from e-news.

Wait, no, you started actually at Entertainment Tonight, right? Channel 1, Entertainment Tonight. I hosted E.TNMTV and the ETN, VH1, Spinoff 2. Then I went to Access Hollywood, the Today Show, and Nightly News. In between, I was on a season. season of One Tree Hill and the Fantastic Four. And then on the acting side, and then I was the Panteen girl. And then the Today Show, Nightly News and Access, I interviewed the Obamas and did all that stuff, wrote books. And then from there, I went to Extra, wrote more books, did more campaigns

and stuff. And then I got a brain tumor. And then I started my own podcast. So all of this is like your 20s and 30s. This is all happening. Yeah. I think I moved out to L.A. when I was 21, when you were 21. So then your last year at E. No, is that E?T. I think at 22. I don't know. It's so hard. I can't remember dates. You're, so you stopped working with E. I'll tell you in 2017. Yes. Thank you. Why and how did you step back from that? I mean, I had a brain tumor to heal from a brain surgery. My mom had brain cancer. And, And so, yeah, I had a focus on healing and getting better. And then I had a serious XM show at the time that I had been doing a Friday podcast

spinoff knowing that's where I wanted my future to kind of go. And then, yeah, I went solely over to podcast. And I really, really enjoyed doing that. I mean, I'm living my mission. God kind of put me on these crazy health journeys, one of which I just battled and and dealt with now. And I know it's happening to to help other people. So my through line always has been to help people and to share information. And so I'm doing both of those. I wanted to lighten it up with the other stuff. Thank you. Because, no, because there is,

you know, so much more to you than than just the fucking crazy, you know, terrible things you had to deal with. Like reading them on the list is like, you look at you. You're like literally glowing. looked so good goddess and you went through all the shit brain tumor diabetes now you just had pancreatic cancer what like how do you defeat the like woe was me attitude how are you not like because i were at somewhere where you were like thankful you're like you're looking at the bright side of being thankful that you're okay because thank god you're okay now but how do you not kind of feel sorry for yourself in those moments and and ask god God, why, why, why, why is all this happening to me?

I mean, I kind of, I'm grateful I don't and I don't, I don't look at things like as a collective a lot. I don't look into my past. I just kind of, I'm such a doer and I love life. And I feel like, yeah, it doesn't mean that it isn't hard sometimes and I don't get knocked down. Like, the brain tumor was just one of those things. I was super burnt out.

I dealt with a lot of toxicity. And I was like, so wiped out. I was like, okay, I'm like, if this is it, this is it. And, and I was just, I was okay with it then because I was cooked. And my mom was dealing with stage four brain cancer and it was so hard. But I, I saw, as your mom had stage four brain cancer, that's when you were having the headaches. So she got her brain tumor. It was like August 31st, 2016 by April 2017.

I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Hers was cancerous. Mine was benign. And so I, like I said, I was just kind of really burnt out. But I did see it as a blessing at some point because I was like, wait, I'm like, God's kind of been trying to send me messages and I haven't been paying attention. And I have to slow down and I have to make changes in my life. And I really was very aware of that.

And I had some tools, whether it was from Rocky, you know, Rocky Balboa, or being one of my favorite movies. And the quote in there is, it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That was one tool. The other tool was life is happening for me, not to me. So it was like, how is this happening for me? I'm like, okay, a lot of times I think we get trapped in an old dream. And I think I was trapped in an old dream. And so for me, I needed to. You're talking like career wise. Career wise. Yeah. Like I, I, I need. needed to expand and do more. I was more than just reading a teleprompter. It was slowly killing me.

And so for me, being able to shift into this space has been such a blessing. And not only is it saving other people's lives and I get those comments constantly and that feedback, now it's saved mine because the way. You have to deal with it again. Yeah, the way I found out about this pancreas tumor was because an outside MRI company called Pernuvo reached out to my show. They kept reaching out, reaching out. My producer didn't tell me because I was traveling. And then I met her at a party and she's like, you have to come in. You have to get this MRI.

And they say God speaks through people. I feel like my mom sent her to me to get me in that MRI because I had been experiencing things and trying to get to the bottom of them. I went to the hospital that November in severe abdominal pain, got a cat scan. Everything was fine, they said. I had severe pain again. They're like, well, we scanned you and your blood's fine and, you know, whatever. And so I was trying and trying and trying.

And it was only when I went to that facility that they found this tumor on my pancreas, which the way they've kind of described it is just like the brain tumors. There's the good kind that you would want. If you could have one kind, you'd want mine. Or there's a bad kind that my mind had. The same thing with the pancreas cancer. There is the kind that you would want, which is what I had, which is a neuroendocrine tumor. And if you catch it early enough, you're okay.

If you don't, you're Steve Jobs. And unfortunately, you don't. That's what I had. Doesn't it usually happen to men? Or is that I feel like it's a more predominantly male kind of pancreas cancer? I don't know. So, like I said, there's two buckets. So then there's the adacarcinoma.

adenar carcinoma, I can't say the word. I think that's what Patrick Swayze had. I think that's what Alex Trebek had. So there's two buckets. Why are you getting this bucket? Is anyone telling you why, like what's happening in your body that something? No, because that's not what Western medicine does. Western medicine diagnosis prescribes and operates.

Right. And so they're not going to get to the bottom of it. My naturopath and I are trying to get to the bottom of it. But I had a breakthrough on my show just the other day with this holistic psychologist, Dr. Scott Lyons, I believe his name was. And he was just starting to talk about and a cortisol and the hormones of stress and what happens when your body's under stress. It releases all these hormones. I go, oh, my God, stop. I think I just had the breakthrough.

And he goes, what? I go, I've been trying to get to the bottom of what's going on in my body. Why am I getting all of these hormonal? Sorry. Why have I gotten all these hormones? hormonal tumors. The meningioma is hormonal, supposedly. The endocrine tumors, hormonal. The fibroid they just took out that was like the size of a baby gone. That was hormonal. And now I know it's stress. Now, I can't change the first however many years of my life where I lived in fighter flight every

single day. Where I've really made changes is since brain tumor, which was 2017, which was now six years ago. I've made incredible strides. And I'm still work. on everything. But that Mack truck, it's hard to slow it down when it's already coming. That's why I keep telling people, your health is an accumulation of health habits and choices. So you have to really start young. And the hard thing is when you're young, you take it so for granted. So you work long hours, which by the way, we're all going to do. We eat shit. We treat our bodies like shit. We don't get the sleep that we need so that the body can run all the processes it needs. So eventually that accumulates. And usually it's an autoimmune condition that hits first,

something thyroid. And then we're like, oh, thyroid. Did you, did you, did you have an immune thing first? Yeah. Hashimoto's. Oh, fuck. I think I have that. Yeah. No, it doesn't mean you're going to get all this stuff. No, I know. I know. I know. But, but what you're saying about stress is like we hate hearing it, right? Because it's like hearing that, you know, that, you know, eating something, that alcohol isn't good for you. I don't know. It's like one of those things that's like, You can't stop. Right, that you can't stop. So, I mean, I hear my mom say it like the stress, the stress. But so what do you do to to kind of keep that lower than you used to? So I'll tell you, I started a meditation program by Dr. Joe Dispenza. Are you familiar with him? No. Okay. You and your whole audience need to know about him. Because I have been self-help queen since I was little. I love everything. And I started.

study everything. And I try a lot of stuff. This is the way. So I started last, let's say, January-ish, my friend Marie Forleo was like, you have to do this. I went to his meditation event. It's amazing. I'd rather gouge my eyeballs out than go to a meditation event. And I'm self-help queen. That's just one thing I'm not going to do. And she was like, Maria, I felt like a snake coming out of my skin. And something about what she said. And in that moment, somehow it clicked. I don't know if it was divine and my mom had something to do with it. I was like, oh my God, that's exactly what I need to do. And I instantly went online and I signed up for his course, the formula.

And I started the course within three days, all of my anxiety that was very crippling and I was about to go on medication for was gone and has not come back. I used to grind and clench my teeth so intensely. I had mouth guards. My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth. I didn't know. I got so used to it. I didn't know your tongue could unglue from the roof of your mouth.

So I started this, went to a meditation event. And then I did his progressive course, which is deeper that prepares you for your first meditation event. It's so life-changing because he isn't teaching you to just go, um, and sit in black space and whatever. He's teaching you how to change your brain, how to change your personality to change your reality. Because what is going on is you're doing something that needs to change, to change your

future and how you think and how you feel is so important for all of this. So he's studied neuroscience, quantum physics. Everything he talks about is scientifically backed. So it's not woo-woo. You can actually bite into things. It feels so good. So he said once you start doing the work, there'll be a moment. Will you just realize you're happy for no reason? And I was like, what's this guy talking about? I was in, but I wasn't like fully like thinking every, I wasn't drinking full coolie. Yeah. A couple months in, I'm in my kitchen. And I look at my husband and I'm like, just so happy. I think I could lift a car with my joy. And he's like, do you do it every day? Yeah. I was doing it every day and I was getting addicted and it was feeling so good. And I was making so many changes in my life. Because think about it. He talks about if you do the same things over and over and expect a different outcome, you're insane, right? Which I feel, yeah. No, I think that's a different. definition of insanity. So you lay one day over the next, over the next, over the next. It's the same thing every single day. So the only way to do that is to disrupt that and to make different

choices. Even little things like drive to work a different way, say yes is something you would have said no to. Anything you can to change up the patterns. And so I was floating, floating, floating, floating, floating, and I was focusing on my full mind, body, and soul healing. I would literally go through my body and I'm like, I want to heal this, I want this to be gone, I want that to be gone. Okay. In June, I get smacked in the face with a type 1 diabetes diagnosis. And I'm like, what the F? I'm feeling better than ever. Wait, so how did you find out if you were feeling, if you were feeling good? So I remember going to a Celtics game coming home to my house in Connecticut and my legs became rocks. And when I say it was like a demon rock climbing up and down my leg, you could physically see it moving. And my husband was so freaked out and I'm screaming. It was like I was inconsolable. It was in so much pain. And I had someone come and give me an IV bag. I'm like, I must be dehydrated. And it kind of worked, but it didn't do a

enough. So it's like, something's wrong. I need to go to the hospital. And I went to the hospital and my A1C level, which was normally at like a 5-8 or something, was a 10.6. I was off the Richter skills. They're like, you have diabetes. I'm like, no, I don't. There's no way. I quit sugar two years ago. There's no way. And so test, come back, you have it. And so I was devastated. And I started kind of what I do when I get upset like that is I instantly start researching what else could this be what am i missing why did this happen and that helps you i feel like it usually makes things worse for me no because i knew this was not right i knew something was but you know what i feel like with you maria like you're kind of fearless i don't think so no i mean

you seem kind of i mean you're talking about your brain tumor and saying that like you were like okay i also had my mom walk before me my mom went in for brain surgery and and I watched her go in with a smile. So I had a role model. Had that not happen, I don't know how I would have reacted. I mean, the disease took her life. Yeah, eventually. But I'll tell you, it came with a six to 12 month kind of diagnosis, right?

That's what that comes with. She got five years. And again, that was every expert I was bringing on to the show. And I was learning and applying things to her. And I learned so much through that journey. And so the only reason we lost her is because she got COVID and she was too weak for treatments. So, oh no. Oh, no.

Do you want to know this worst story? So you're one of COVID. Do I? Do I? Do I? You're one of COVID. You can actually go online on YouTube. I made a little like, I think 15 minute documentary called Mom, Dad, COVID and me about the journey. And there's some caretaking stuff in there for you guys.

But November of 2020, that was COVID, right? Yeah. So the first COVID year, my, I land from a flight and I see a text and it's like mom was rushed to the hospital unresponsive. And I'm like, what? So she ended up with COVID stage four brain cancer. She's in one hospital. By the next day, my dad has it. He's severe type one diabetic, 77 years old. He's in another hospital. And now I'm Dirty Harry, playing Dirty Harry with two hospitals. They all call at the same time. It's like 345. They make their rounds and they all call. My mom's here. My dad's here. And I'm like, hold on. Hold on. What was her blood cut?

It was crazy. So we beat COVID. And the problem was when she was released to me and I had her at home, she was too weak for the treatments. And that's why the tumor just grew. But that was crazy. The diabetes, yes, I went into research mode. And I saw that, and I can't remember the percentage, but it was in like the 30s or 40s percent of people got diabetes after COVID. And so there's some, is it not, is it not, it is genetic. It is genetic. But I was 43 years old. Like, that was weird. Right. And I'm, and I'm healthy. I eat well. Like, it just didn't make sense. So I'm like, I bet you this is the COVID. And so anyhow, was working diligently on that. And I was like, wow, this is unbelievable. And then I made the connection. You made some connection. I figured out how to get off of insulin. And so I was. was off insulin for months. And now? And now I'm back on it because they severed my pancreas and the pancreas is what does insulin. So now I'm going back through the process. It's going to take a minute because are those not connected? Was the pancreatic? I mean, it is though. I don't. I don't know, but it must be because my first instinct and I know my gut was I don't have this. And so imagine there's a tumor on the part of your pancreas that's producing insulin. And so it can't be not connected. They should have scanned my pancreas back then to see.

But anyhow, in November, so June, I was diagnosed with this. In November, I started having severe abdominal pain and I had severe diarrhea for a month and a half. I did all the stool tests. They came back negative. Nothing was bad. I went and got a cat scan. They said, you're fine. I'm like, pain kept persisting.

And any time I complained about the pain, my doctor was like, we've done all the tests. and so that's when the angel came in in the form of this woman. You have to come do this MRI and I did it. And it's an outside MRI. I think they cost like $2,000. Right. And they found the tumor and that's when the guy was like, you need to go to the hospital right now.

And so I went to the hospital. They did another MRI to confirm it. Were you shocked or were you like, yeah, it makes sense? No, I was in shock because so I'm sitting in a room and we're going through the MRI. from head to toe and I'm getting down, getting down, getting down. And it's like, everything's good. Okay. Okay. Because I was nervous. I knew I was going to hear something. I could feel it. And as we're getting closer to the bottom, I'm like, thank you God, thank you God. And then the pancreas and he freaks out. He's like, yeah. And so when he said there was a large mass on my pancreas, I started a well up and I looked at him.

I was like so I'm a goner right and he said that for real yeah because I know what pancreas and tumor means yeah and he was like I just know you need to go to the hospital right now and he was really freaked out and so I looked at Kevin and I'm like holy effing shit like I can't believe this is happening and yeah after you get delta brain brain tumor and to get the other like there's two the worst things. You're like, are you serious? And so then I saw how freaked out he was. So I went in a consoling mode because I felt bad for him. So I think that helped me a little bit in that moment. I was like, I'm like, dude, trust me. Like, crazy shits happened to me. And I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm just, I want you to know I'm grateful because he was so freaked

out that he had to deliver that news. The radiologist. The radiologist from Provo. Yeah. And so, you know, because he's probably thinking of the worst, too. And so we rushed off from there, and I'm like Kevin, and we were just kind of numb. And when they confirmed it, the next morning, it was a Saturday morning, I woke up. And I just looked over because I pray every night I have on my fireplace mantle. I have my church icons and I pray every night. And I was just fucking gutted. I was like guttural crying.

And I was like, I can't believe God just blessed me with a baby. I'm going to have a baby. And you had just found, because you're expecting a, we were two months along or something. We were very, yeah. And I'm like, I can't believe I'm finally going to have a baby. I'm not going to get to meet her. Because what we also found out was that when they found the MRI, the tumor on the MRI, I said, can we go back and get the records and look at the November scan? I bet it was there. And it was. At that point, it was two centimeters. And then by the time they found it, it was almost four centimeters that had doubled in size in two months. So how didn't they see it, though? on the first scan?

So I'm still getting to the bottom of that. What I've learned since is, because I'm just, just healing from all of this, what I'm learning is that different scans have the ability to see different things better. So for this, an MRI was what's really going to see it. For other things, a cat scans better, and for other things in ultrasounds better. And so it's a really complicated process to figure out which one is, is the right thing to do. You're saying it was there on a scan you did.

So the radiologist went back and he was able to see it and do an addendum and say, yes, now with the knowledge it was there, we were able to see it. It is there. So I'm not a bartender, nor was I ever, because I shouldn't be allowed next to making cocktails. And that is why I need a canned cocktail. And Junshine is my favorite go-to adult beverage. It's freaking amazing.

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happened, how to make sure you, you stay healthy and everything like that. Yeah, that's why, honestly, like, I'm so grateful for my show. And this is when I, it's funny, when I meet people and they have health stuff, I'm like, please listen to my show. I'm not telling you to listen to it because I need more followers or any of that. I'm like, it's literally our accountability partner to make health a priority in our life because no one teaches us that health is that important. What they do teach us, and I'm sure you know this, is when we're little, grow up and be something. Get good grades. Then it's, you know,

go to a great college, get a big job, make a lot of money, get married, have kids. Health? Does anybody teach us anything about health? No. And what do you think about the too much information? Like, what do you think about that? Because like my mom has gone crazy with it. I walk into her house at any hour. She's listening to Dr. Hyman, Dr. This, all these reels she sends me. So, like, how do you? And that, I feel like can be too much. It could be overwhelming, lots of different information.

I, the way I approach it is, I just think of my, like, my virtual toolbox in the air. And I'm just acquiring things and implementing them. Little by little teeny things. Like Dr. Mark Hyman, I saw on one of his Instagram, he had this chocolate moose with avocado and cacao powder. He was like, hell yeah. I tried it. It's amazing. And so I don't overwhelm myself. And I do have a naturopath. I really believe in having a naturopath because they're going to do the detective work. They're going to get under the hood and they're going to teach you things about your health and how to approach it, how to make sure

you're getting sunlight, how important sunlight is to our bodies, even though centralized medicine tells us to stay the frig away from it. It's crazy what is being studied with sun and your health. And so for me it's applying as much as I can without being overwhelmed, not thinking that I'm going to do everything perfect all the time, but realizing that health has to be a priority and that we have to be the CEO of our health. And so we have to keep a pain journal. I keep a pain journal. So when I sit with the doctor, I know I'm going to forget everything. I forget what I did 10 minutes ago. And you're going to probably feel great that day. You're going to feel great. When the car, you are like, my car's rattling.

You go to the mechanic and now it's not and you're like, oh, shit. No, you're going to feel amazing. You're like, no, everything's really good actually. I don't know why I'm here. Yeah. So you can look at your notes and say, oh, gosh, I've had a pattern. Oh, my God. I've been having diarrhea for a long time.

Like, we don't talk about that because we're so embarrassed, but that is such a massive sign of things are going really wrong in there. And abdominal pain. Sometimes I'm like, oh, I just ate something bad or, oh, it's gone now. Things that come and go. you've got to focus on. And if there's a pain that persists and your doctors are not getting to the bottom of it or they can't figure it out, then you need to go another route. And like these outside scans maybe or thermography or someone like a naturop.

Or GI maps, I heard. Something. You have to just keep fighting because it's your life and you have to fight for your own life. Which you've been having to fucking do. Yeah. And the scans. It's funny. I was talking on the Today Show this morning about how I'm working with someone to get insurance to cover it.

Oh, that would be amazing. I know he knows how to do this. And I know I'm persistent enough. And I know that it's expensive for people and it's so hard. Healthcare is such a nightmare in general insurance. It's so hard. And I know that. So that's part of my mission now, too, is to figure out how to do this.

Of course, I was like on social media and I shouldn't look at the comments. So some people are like, yeah, you know, nobody can do these. And I'm like, I know, that's what I'm working on. And then someone else was like, someone else complain and said, yeah. And then there's going to be a lot of red tape. And I'm like, okay, so should I quit? Should I not do this? Do you not want me to?

I don't understand. We have to just keep trying. Yeah. And so, yeah, it's. So, but with all this, do you not get health anxiety, Maria? I do. Now, like, I am on guard with your body. And I am and I'm having to work on that.

Like, if I feel a little pain right now. I'm still healing. I'm only nine weeks out of surgery. Eight and a half weeks out of surgery. I can't believe you're eight and a half weeks after surgery and you're on, first of all, how does it feel to be like on kind of like a press tour right now of talking about everything that you went through? Like how did this even kind of come about? Were you like, oh, wait, I want to do this eight weeks after, after healing. It was last minute because I, it's been secret. So imagine having to do all of this in secret. it's very lonely it's really hard and then i posting normally on like instagram and stuff yeah pretending yeah and then at the same time i was starting to feel better and i i finally called my publicist and i said i can't hide anymore like i can't hide my glucose monitor on my arm anymore like i can't you know hide what's been going on i need to be able to let this out because

because it's not healthy to hold it in any longer. I had to hold it in for a little while. It's not healthy anymore. And I'm looking at my calendar. And with travel and a baby coming, this is the moment. So we just got to do it right now. And so we did. We called The People Magazine. And I told the story. And funny enough, that's when it became really real for me is when I started talking about it. These last couple days, it like really hit me. Because my husband was telling me this is what Steve Jobs died of at some point to get me to understand the gravity of it. And I was like, no, sir, you didn't hear that right. And then my doctor was like, yeah, not only did he die of it, he goes, I was his doctor. And I was like, oh, my God. So I,

I'm in process of all of this. And yeah, I working with a therapist as well. I'm going to. Yeah. I'm going to. You don't want this coming up in like five years, you know? Oh, shit. I had pancreatic cancer. It's bananas. It is so important what you're doing. And you have your podcast Heal Squad, you know, to talk about this stuff and educate people and make people feel not alone and make people feel like you can heal. It's, I feel like attitude is such a big part of it. Is that?

Because you were saying you learn that kind of from your mom. I did. My mom never cried when she was diagnosed. She never felt sorry for herself. and she showed me that way we've always been pretty positive people. It doesn't mean that we don't get knocked down. And listen, we've had a lot of, my dad almost died like on the regular with his type one diabetes. So we've lived on pins and needles forever. And maybe that's why we're just always clinging to happiness because we're just, we're going through so much stuff that we don't want to

feel that stuff. It's like, feel the good stuff. But I just, I feel it would be such a pity to be woe is me when God's granted me so many miracles. And I remember even when my mom was dying and we knew these were her last days. My dad was in the kitchen. He was cooking. And he just started crying. And he goes, why us? Why our family has to have so much?

And I said, dad, why not us? Think about everybody who's going through this stuff. It's not just us. It's people who have less that are going through it, who don't have, you know, maybe the same love that we have for each other. that we can support each other. I'm like, we're strong and we can do it. Why not us? Wow, Maria, that's a strong. That's, wow, why not us? Yeah, I believe that. I say, why me when like my cab's late, you know? Like, why me?

I mean, it's so easy, right? To, to even with small things in life. But how are you also balancing the perspective of, okay, dealing with this kind of life or death situation, but also being able to like be normal and complain about cabs and not everything being like you know I almost you know I had all this stuff so I should you know take nothing for granted and be happy that you know what I mean like how do you kind of balance those perspectives this is why by the way your show is so popular you're a really great interviewer and you ask really great questions it's coming from you thank you so much true because I'll tell you I'm battling with that right now because I'm finding myself just kind of slipping back.

And it's been hard to keep my meditation program through this journey because I was in so much pain and I was out of it. And I mean, I was trying in the hospital and I've been trying to get back into my flow. I'm not officially in my flow. And that's, you know, makes me a little rickety, right? And so I'm battling that because I'm like, sometimes I'm like, pitch, you just, you just with your health. You know what it's like to face this. Did your doctor even approve you flying eight weeks after surgery? Yeah. I'm sure he hasn't seen it before. I feel like. Like,

I was pretty shocked at how quickly I was able to kind of be okay. Because I read that you were not okay right after, right? Yeah. It was a hard recovery. It was hard. It was hard and then it wasn't. Like, I film everything because I never want to rely on my memory. Our memory is like 50% true. The day after surgery, I was like, Kevin, this is so surreal. I don't feel like anything happened. Why do I feel so good and normal? And then after that, a lot of pain kicks in.

So maybe I jinks myself. But soon when I got out of surgery, I remember just screaming pain, pain, pain, pain, because it was so painful. And we couldn't get the pain meds right for a while. and then it was it was a little rough at some point but but yeah i mean i'm just i don't know i just i want to i want to do i want to live i want to but i am battling the guilt sometimes right now over being frustrated with something stupid or stressing about something like i'm like you know better why are you stressing about this you almost died like i remember literally thinking i'm

I was having to have conversations with my husband about how I wanted him to raise our daughter and who I wanted her to be around. Like, we were having serious thoughts about I might not be here. And so, yeah, I'm battling. And I'm, like, before you went into surgery, did they make it sound 100% optimistic or were they not sure? It was optimistic at that point. It was before then. And it takes a minute to get to that. You have to find the surgeons. You got to sit with on. And I'm like, I'm in an oncologist office. What's happening? So you didn't know from the beginning that it could, that it's the kind that you said wasn't the really bad kind? Not, not the first couple days. After the biopsy, but the biopsy doctor had said this was nothing. Before biopsy, he was like, this is nothing. I've been doing this for 20 years. This is probably pancreatitis or inflammation at best, but your primary over here has been busted my butt to get you in here. So I'm going to

do this, but you're fine. That's what he said. And so he kind of gasped at both of us. And when I came out, he goes, well, it's definitely something. And so he's like, it's stage one, which then it was stage two, the stage one neuroendocrine tumor, he's like, it's well differentiated. So you're still learning lingo and he's like, well differentiated means it looks like it hasn't spread and we can get it out.

But then you meet with oncology and everyone, they're like, well, we have to take your spleen. We have to take all the lymph nodes and, you know, because it might have spread. And you're like, so what? And then they never shared the report with me. The official report said they thought I had the worst pancreas cancer, the adenorma carcinoma on it. I just saw that because they gave it to People magazine. I never even saw that. So I could just tell from faces and feelings that it was very serious and so it wasn't so uncertain all the time to be in this yeah and so there was a lot of fear and then i had to just shift myself out of it and be like you don't know anything wait till you know and dr donahue when i did sit with him he goes you are going to be okay i'm going to

get this out and you're going to be fine but i just mad him i'm going to believe him like i so much shit has happened up until this point like i don't know So luckily he was right. I joked with him because he's from bosses. I'm like, if you're not right, I know where you live. I'm coming for you. Oh, my God. So I use a lot of people.

That you're healthy and you're okay and you look great. And I hope you don't have to deal with anything like this again. No mass. We're done. No, no mass. And you're having a baby. I know. Did I make up that it's a girl?

It is a girl. Oh, yay. Yeah. I get excited. I don't know why I get excited. a girl. Did you pick a girl? How does that work? So I did know that it was a girl going in, yeah. Do you know that they don't do that in every country? Isn't that weird? Really? Yeah. My friend is doing it in Israel. And I was like, so what it, because if you have the embryo, you should know the, the, you do. Yeah.

Well, you don't have to know. My doctor accidentally told me, so I knew. Oh. Yeah. Maybe they're like, in Israel, they're like, you got to pay extra to know the, to note the gender probably oh my god that's so exciting it's a girl when is the due date did you share that i haven't shared but she's coming in the summer in the summer are you all ready do you have like superstit you're greek right so there is some superstitions with like with not really really no i know i know we have to like put like an evil eye on her probably or something like that but the nursery's almost done i had a friend come over the other day because i was having a little bit of a panic i'm like I need to get everything.

And I know there's so many things I still don't have. And so she sat with me and I just ordered everything on Amazon that I still needed. I mean, you could have, yeah, you could have ordered it like the day before. Like that's how easy it is. Yeah, but. But, you know, you're like, and so she was great. She was like, we'll all come over and we'll set you up when you're out of town so that you can come home and then the house is ready for you. And I was like, thank you guys.

Because they were like, we want to do a baby shower. I go, I don't have time to think about who to invite and who not to invite and any of that stuff. I go, all I need is somebody to help me prepare for this baby. That's all I need. Like, so if you guys need help me with that, that's what I really need. How exciting is, is the fact that, I mean, the baby is coming after. Also, this is another thing you were very open about around like 2016, even you shared your, your IVF treatment and how it was unsuccessful at the time. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's been an almost 10-year journey trying to conceive naturally, artificial

insemination, IVF, surrogates. So I know it's, it happened at this time for a reason. And so I'm just grateful. I can't wait to meet her. I'm so excited. Oh, my God. And it's going to be the best. It's going to be the best ever. I'm so excited for you. Thank you for coming on my show, Maria. I hope you stay healthy. Thank you. If you ever need me, I am a fake doctor now. I always joke that I've logged more than 10,000 hours. So I run, I run point on people's health all the time because I also am very intuitive. So I'm always like, oh no, this is what you need. This is what you need. Not that you're doing anything in place of a doctor. Probably I really, it's additive. Okay. Well, you're going to regret saying that. No, I do. Listen, I get the 911 calls for people all the time. I got one this morning.

the one person has sarcoma, the other one has leukemia. And I'm like, okay, you need to talk to this person. You need to talk to that person. Let me get you. So I'm, I, I, I love helping people. And I'm happy to hear that you're doing the work with trying to get the insurance. And if you, we're going to see you in a lab like next year, like making, like, I don't know, vaccinations or something. But no, I really do think that COVID is related. I'm telling you, after I got COVID, I used to be able to, like, eat pizza and feel good. Like, after COVID, my whole stomach shifted. I, like, can't digest anything.

And going to the doctor, I remember saying, like, the only thing that happened was COVID. Like, that's the only thing that was different. And it's exactly after that, you know, and my mom's friend also got some type of cancer. I forget the name after COVID. And they don't make those connections anywhere. I have a list of ailments that came after COVID. Isn't that wild? Yep.

Well, Maria, you're a shiny light and keep educating and doing the work. Everyone listen to Heel Squad. Follow Maria's journey. Can't wait to see her baby. And really, I mean it, like I would have done this entire interview, sicknesses aside. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, that's something you had to deal with. And I'm glad it brought you to this new place in your life, that you're more fulfilled.

But know that you were inspiration in your old life to a lot of people too. Oh, thank you so much. You're welcome. And thank you again for coming on. Thank you for having me. This was so great. You're so good at what you do. Oh, my God.

Thank you. I'm serious. Thank you guys so much for listening to this episode of Not Skinny but Not Fat. Follow me on Instagram at Not Skinny but Not Fat. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any episodes. Rate the podcast that you love so much on Apple Podcast and write a little review. If you tell me you did, I'll give you a big virtual. Smoochero. Thank you guys so much for listening, and I'll see you next Tuesday.

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